Stranger in the Night
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Ranger Dan's daughter Julie finds herself in the Raccoons world
1. Little Girl Lost

It was a bright, sunny day in the Evergreen Forest. The chief forest ranger, Dan, was out making his rounds, and his two kids, Julie and Tommy, were going for a hike in the forest with Schafer and Broo.

"I'll take Schafer, and you can have Broo," Tommy said.

"How come?" Julie asked. "I'm older."

"Yeah, but I'm a boy. Boys can handle big dogs, and girls can't."

"That's not fair. Schafer belongs to both of us."

"Yeah, but he likes me better!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Tommy, you're such a child."

Julie wasn't about to get into an argument over the dogs. So she just picked up Broo's leash, and started out into the forest. Tommy walked along with Schafer trailing behind them. He didn't usually need to be walked on a leash. Besides, if either Julie or Tommy did take him on a leash, he would be walking them, instead of the other way around.

"Do you think we'll see any bears or mountain lions?" Tommy asked.

"I doubt it," Julie said. "Daddy says they don't come around on the trails anymore, because there are too many people around. We'll probably just be seeing deer and things like that."

"Oh."

Julie and Tommy continued their walk through the woods. Schafer and Broo followed right behind them. While the two kids stopped to check the map, Broo looked up at Schafer and barked.

"Settle down, Broo," Schafer mumbled. He didn't want Julie and Tommy to hear him. Broo continued to jump around and bark.

"No, I don't think they'll find it," Schafer said, calmly. "It's hidden very well here in the woods, and you know the rules their dad has. They're not allowed off the trail when they go hiking by themselves."

Broo whimpered a little. He wasn't so sure if this was such a good idea or not. In any case, Broo went chasing after a butterfly, and Schafer went after him to keep him out of trouble.

"Schafer, Broo, come back here!" Tommy called, and he started to run after them.

"Tommy, wait!" Julie shouted. "You know Daddy's rules. We're not allowed off the trail when we're on hikes by ourselves. Besides, Schafer and Broo will be back soon."

"You're no fun, Julie!" Tommy shouted at his sister. "You think you're so smart just 'cause you're older! I'm going after them. You can just wait here all by yourself if you want!"

And with that, Tommy ran off the trail and into the forest after the two dogs. Julie stood right where she was, for a maximum of five minutes. Then she groaned, and started following her brother.

"He'd better not be lost," she said.

Julie wandered through the bushes, trying to figure out exactly where Tommy would go. She couldn't even find his tracks in the dirt, nor the dogs' tracks.

"Tommy!" Julie called. "Tommy, this isn't funny! You know Daddy said he have to stick together! Tommy, come on out now!"

Julie continued walking along, searching for her brother and the two dogs. The sun started to go down. Julie sighed, and started to turn around and go home. That was another one of Dan's rules. The kids had to be back home before sunset. Julie didn't want to make her father angry with her, although he was probably going to be angry with her, anyway, returning without Tommy and the dogs. But she wasn't going to stand around the forest all night looking for them.

Julie began to walk around, but nothing she passed looked familiar. She turned in another direction, and began walking down that path, but that didn't lead to the trail, either.

"I thought I came down this way," Julie said. "Or maybe it was that way . . . ."

Julie began looking around, and began to realize something. She was lost. She knew some basic wilderness tricks from her father, such as moss always grows on the north side of trees, but that was about all she knew. So, she just continued to walk along until she found the trail again. Then she'd go follow the trail home, but that was only going to be easier said than done.

By the time the sun had gone down completely, Julie was even more lost than before. She didn't know where to go, and she certainly didn't know how to find her way back to the trail. She had only one more wilderness trick up her sleeve. She sat down right where she was, and decided to stay there, just in case Dan, Tommy, and the dogs were looking for her. Julie yawned, and curled up against one of the trees. She was glad that she had brought a sweater in her backpack, because it was starting to get a little chilly. She put on her sweater, and closed her eyes to get some sleep.

Julie woke up a few hours later, at sunrise. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawned, and got up. She looked around, and realized she was still lost. She sighed, and started to lean against the tree, and nearly feel backwards, as a secret door opened.

"What's that?" she asked, as she stood up. She looked inside the door, and saw an exact replica of the Evergreen Forest.

Julie went inside the door, and looked around. It looked exactly like the Evergreen Forest, but somehow, it seemed . . . . . different.


	2. The Other Side of the Evergreen Forest

Julie walked around this new Evergreen Forest, and looked around. Something seemed strange about this forest, but she couldn't think of what it was. She continued to walk around, but she couldn't seem to find a trail to lead her back home. There wasn't anything that looked familiar. Her father was going to be mad at her, she knew that, but she still wanted to find her way home. So she decided to go back to the tree and go back to her own forest. But there was one problem with that. Julie couldn't remember what tree it was. She sighed, and sat down on a tree stump.

"Now what am I gonna do?" she asked herself.

Julie started to think about what she was going to do when her stomach started growling. She was starving. She knew she had some trail mix packed in her backpack, so she pulled it out, and began eating it, but it wasn't very satisfying.

"I wish Schafer were here," she said with a sigh. "He'd be able to help me get home."

Julie sat on the stump and started to get comfortable. She had no idea what she was going to do, or where to go.

A couple of hours passed. Elsewhere in the forest, Bert Raccoon and his friends, Ralph and Melissa Raccoon, and Cedric, Sophia, and Forest Sneer were walking through the trees and bushes, looking for the perfect spot to set up their picnic.

"Nothing like a beautiful day for a picnic," Melissa commented.

"I agree," Sophia said, trying to keep her hold on Forest.

Forest was only eight months old, and extremely active. Cedric and Sophia had a heck of a time keeping their eyes on him. He was prone to wandering off.

"We'd better find a spot before Forest climbs out of Sophia's grip," Ralph commented.

The others laughed. Melissa found a good spot, and spread out the blanket. The minute Sophia put him down, Forest started to crawl off at top speed, until Ralph picked him up.

"Whoa there, cowboy!" he shouted. "Where do you think you're going, huh?"

Forest began to whimper a little. He wanted to be on the go. Ralph gave him to Cedric and began to dig out the food.

"He's a mover, that's all I've got to say," he replied.

"I know," Cedric said, as he tried to keep Forest on his lap. "The only time he settles down is when he's ready for a nap!"

So pretty much for the entire picnic, Cedric or Sophia would keep Forest on their laps, which was a little difficult, since Forest kept wanting to crawl off. He was pushing against Cedric's arm, trying to get away.

"Come on, Forest, settle down," Cedric said.

"I think I know what'll get him to settle," Bert said. He rummaged around the basket, and pulled out a plastic bag packed with cookies.

"My special double peanut butter cookies!" he shouted.

"I don't know, Bert," Cedric said. "I think those might make it worse."

"I agree with Cedric," Melissa said. "Forest doesn't need the extra boost from the sugar in those cookies."

But Forest was already reaching for the cookies. He was teething, and he wanted something to chew on. Bert gave him a cookie, and immediately, Forest sat still and began gnawing on it. Cedric breathed of relief, and put him down.

"You see?" Bert asked. "Whenever my mother wanted to keep me still, she used to give me peanut butter."

"Why am I not surprised?" Melissa said, to nobody in particular.

So, the group got to talking over things. Forest reached into the bag, and pulled out another cookie. Nobody noticed. And since his mommy and daddy were no longer holding onto him, he started to crawl off. Again, nobody seemed to notice.

"So I thought Schafer was coming on this picnic," Cedric said.

"He was," Melissa said. "But something came up and he couldn't come."

"Too bad," Bert said. "He would've liked this."

The others nodded, and continued talking and eating. They didn't even notice Forest had crawled off completely.

At the time, Forest was following a ladybug that was flying around. It brought him into the forest, where he saw a strange looking creature. It was like nothing Forest had ever seen before. He crawled over, curiously. This strange creature looked like it was all alone. He crawled up to the stump it was sitting on, and patted it's knee.

Julie looked down to see what was tapping her on the knee, and saw a baby aardvark sitting by the stump. The baby aardvark was wearing a shirt, shorts, and sneakers. She thought that was a little strange.

"What's this?" she asked.

Forest babbled something in baby talk, held his cookie up to Julie, and smiled. Julie took the cookie, and sniffed it. It smelled like peanut butter. Just like the peanut butter cookies her grandmother baked. Forest pulled himself to his feet and braced himself against the stump. He wasn't too steady on his feet yet. He blinked his big, blue eyes, and waited. Julie shrugged, and took a bite out of the cookie. It tasted just like a regular peanut butter cookie, and she was pretty hungry. Forest giggled, and clapped his hands.

In the meantime, Cedric, Sophia, and the Raccoons were walking around the woods, looking for Forest.

"Why does he always do this?" Bert asked.

"I know," Cedric sighed. "You take your eyes off him for one second, and he's off."

"I tell ya, babies should come equipped with surveillance cameras!"

The five continued walking around, calling out Forest's name, until they heard the baby's unmistakable giggle. They all ran over and saw Forest sitting with a human child. Needless to say, they were all pretty surprised.

"What in the world?" Sophia asked.

"How did a human get in here?" Cedric asked.

"She must have found the secret doorway Schafer and Broo use," Melissa said.

"Do you think it's dangerous?" Sophia asked.

"I don't think so," Ralph said. "I think this is just a little human. It's usually the big ones that are dangerous."

"She looks familiar," Melissa said. "Do you think this is one of Schafer's kids?"

"I think you're right," Ralph said. "If she's a friend of Schafer's, then I think it's okay."

And with that, Cedric, Sophia, and the Raccoons walked out into the open. Forest looked over, and smiled. Julie glanced up to see what he was looking at, and immediately let out a shriek. It wasn't a frightened shriek, she was just a little surprised to see three raccoons and two aardvarks walking over on two legs, and wearing clothes, for that matter. Sophia picked up Forest and gave him a hug.

"Forest, you naughty boy!" she scolded. "You know better than to wander off and worry us like that!"

Forest just giggled, and settled into his mother's shoulder.

"You . . . . . you talk!" Julie shouted, surprised.

"So do you," Bert teased. Melissa gave him a nudge in the ribs.

"We didn't mean to scare you," Ralph said.

"You didn't scare me," Julie said. "You just . . . . . surprised me."

"What are you doing here?" Melissa asked. "No human has ever been on this side of the Evergreen Forest before."

"I was on a nature hike with my little brother and my two dogs," Julie said. "My dogs ran off and my brother went after them, so I decided to follow him, and I got lost. I didn't mean to find the door. It was an accident! I'm sorry!"

And with that, Julie began to cry. And when she started, Forest began to start up as well.

"Oh, don't cry," Melissa said. "It's all right. It was just an accident after all. Come on. We'll take you back to the Raccoondominium and try and get in touch with Schafer. Schafer is one of your dogs, isn't he?"

"Uh huh," Julie said, sniffling a little.

"Good," Melissa said, taking Julie by the hand. "We'll have you back where you belong in no time at all."


	3. Cyril's Discovery

As the Raccoons took Julie to the Raccoondominium, Cedric and Sophia went in a separate direction to get back home. All throughout the walk, Sophia couldn't help but worry about something.

"What do you think your father's going to do when he finds out about a human on this side of the forest?" she asked.

"I don't know," Cedric said. "But if we're really careful, he won't find out."

"You're right. I just hope he doesn't find out."

Unfortunately, Cyril Sneer was about to find out about Julie being in this Evergreen Forest. Floyd Pig had been in the woods, on Cyril's orders, looking for an area he could use to build something that would make him money, when he saw Cedric, Sophia, Forest, and the Raccoons picnicking, and he also saw it when they met Julie as well. So the Pig naturally pulled a walkie-talkie out and called his employer.

"Uhh, sir," he said, nervously. "I think there's something you should know . . . ."

"What?" Cyril asked.

"Well, sir, I, uh, don't know how to put this . . . . . but there's a human on our side of the forest."

"A what!"

"A human, sir."

"A human! How on earth did a human get on our side?! No one on the other side knows about the secret door that connects the human world with our world except those two mangy mutts that come in and out all the time! I won't have it. I simply will not have it! I want to find this human and exterminate it!"

Cyril turned off the walkie-talkie and flung it against the wall. Then he stormed out of his office, and was ready to go out the front door when he ran into Cedric, literally. Both of them crashed to the floor.

"Cedric! Watch where you're going!" Cyril shouted.

"Sorry, Pop," Cedric said, trying to find his glasses, which had fallen off his face when he fell.

Forest began to giggle, and he reached for Cyril. Cyril got up, and started out the front door.

"Not now, Forest!" he shouted. "I've got things to do!"

"Like what?" Sophia asked.

"There's a human on our side of the forest!" Cyril shouted. "And you know what that could lead to! First only one comes, and then two, and then three, and then pretty soon, they'll take over the place!"

Cedric and Sophia looked at each other, nervously. Cyril noticed their quick glance to each other and looked at them suspiciously.

"What was that look for?" he asked.

"Wh-what look?" Cedric asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"You and Sofa Girl look like you know something that I don't," Cyril replied.

"Us? Kn-know s-s-something?"

"And you only stammer like that when you're nervous, Cedric. Is there something about this human that you're not telling me?"

"Well . . . . . uhhhh . . . . ."

"We might have seen it," Sophia said. "But we don't know where she went."

"She!" Cyril shouted. "So it's a she, is it? All right, you two, tell me where this human is now so I can exterminate her!"

Cedric and Sophia looked at each other again. They had to get out of there and fast.

"Oh look at the time!" Sophia shouted in a rush. "It's time for Forest's nap!"

"I'll help you out, Sophia," Cedric said, as he and Sophia beat a hasty retreat to the stairway. "You know how hard it is to get Forest to take a nap!"

And with that, Cedric and Sophia ran up the stairs. Cyril eyed them suspiciously again. He had a feeling Cedric and Sophia were keeping something from him. In fact, he knew, because he had put Forest down for a nap quite a few times, and never once did he give Cyril any trouble. So he followed his son and daughter-in-law up the stairs to see what they were up to. Cedric was on the phone to Ralph.

"I'm not sure how, but Pop knows about Julie," he said.

"How could he have found out?" Ralph asked.

"I don't know, but he says he's going to exterminate her. Better find out where Schafer is now!"

"Cedric!" Cyril called.

"Oh no," Sophia said. "I'll go stall him."

Cedric nodded, as Sophia dashed out of the door, closed it, and stood in front of it.

"Where's Cedric?" Cyril asked.

"Cedric?" Sophia said, pretending she didn't know a thing.

"Stop playing dumb, Sofa Girl, I know he's in there! What's he doing?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"If it's nothing how come you won't let me just take a look?"

"Well, Forest is napping in there, and we don't want to wake him up."

Cyril didn't believe a word of it. He started to go towards the door, but Sophia blocked him off.

"You can't go in there," she said.

"It's my house," Cyril growled. "You're just living in it. I could easily evict you, you know! Now stand aside!"

Sophia was persistent. She would not allow Cyril to go inside the room. Cyril finally had enough. He grabbed Sophia by the arms, and tried to force her to move, but she just wouldn't budge.

"Move out of the way!" Cyril demanded.

"No!" Sophia shouted. That only caused Cyril to push harder, and squeeze her arms harder as well.

"Move!" he yelled.

"Stop!" Sophia shouted.

"Pop, what are you doing?" Cedric asked, coming out of the room.

"What were you doing in there!" Cyril yelled, letting go of Sophia.

"Nothing, Pop," Cedric said. "Just . . . . . talking to Ralph on the phone."

"Ralph, eh? Ralph Raccoon?"

"Well . . . . yes."

"And . . . . just what was it that you were talking about?"

"Oh . . . . . nothing much. We were just . . . . . scheduling a baseball game."

"Baseball game."

"Yeah. Baseball game."

Cyril just nodded, and went downstairs. Cedric and Sophia breathed of relief. Unfortunately, Cyril heard them, and smirked.

"That human must be at the Raccoondominium," he said. "I'll show a human to step on this side of the forest. Their types are not welcome here!"

Cyril stormed out to his car, and drove off to the Raccoondominium.

In the meantime, Ralph was on his way out the door.

"I'm going to look for Schafer," he said.

"Why can't you guys just take me to the door?" Julie asked. She was playing checkers with Bert.

"Because we don't remember where it is," Bert said, moving one of his pieces. "We don't frequent the door like Schafer and Broo."

"Oh," Julie replied, and managed to jump all of Bert's pieces. Bert was amazed, but he was trying to cover it up.

"I let you win, you know," he said.

"I know," Julie said, giggling.

"We can't let Cyril Sneer find out you're here, Julie," Melissa said. "Cedric said he was going to exterminate you if he found you."

"Yuck," Julie said. "I don't want to be exterminated! We'd better find Schafer!"

"Right," Ralph said. He opened the front door, and there stood Cyril Sneer.

"Yike!" Ralph shouted, and he slammed the door almost immediately. "It's Cyril! Quick, Julie! Hide!"

"Come on!" Bert shouted. He and Julie ran into the kitchen and made plans to stay there. Melissa shut the kitchen door, and nodded to Ralph. Ralph gulped, and opened the door slowly.

"Oh, uhh, hi Cyril," he said, like nothing had happened. "What brings you here?"

"All right, where is she?" Cyril demanded, as he walked into the Raccoondominium.

"Where's who?" Melissa asked, as if she didn't know.

"The human! I know she's here somewhere!" Cyril shouted. "And I intend to find her!"

"Well, she's not here," Ralph said. "I don't know what made you think that she'd be here."

"She's not the only one who's not here," Cyril said, glancing around the room. "Where's your friend?"

"Who, Bert?" Ralph asked. "He's . . . . . uhh . . . . ."

"Out picking up peanut butter," Melissa cut in.

"He is, huh?" Cyril asked.

"Yeah, you know how we go through peanut butter around here," Ralph said. "It's gone in a two day time period."

"Then you won't mind if I checked out the kitchen," Cyril said.

"Don't go in there!" Melissa shouted.

Too late. Cyril walked into the kitchen, but all he found was Bert sitting at the kitchen table, eating peanut butter.

"Hiya, Cyril," he said. "What's new?"

"Picking up peanut butter, eh?" Cyril asked.

"I just got back," Bert replied, licking some of the peanut butter off his paw. "This is good stuff. Want some?"

"Uhh, no thanks," Cyril said, although he was a little confused. "The three of you are acting fishy. I know there's a human around here, and I intend to find her!"

Cyril stormed out the kitchen door just then, which Julie was hiding behind. Both she and Bert breathed of relief. But the relief wasn't going to last long. Cyril came back in and flung the door so hard, it hit not only the wall, but Julie as well.

"And another thing!" Cyril shouted.

"Ow!" Julie cried as the door smacked into her.

"What was that?" Cyril asked.

"Uhh . . . . . Broo?" Bert suggested feebly.

"Since when does that mangy mutt speak English?" Cyril asked, as he moved the door out of the way, and saw Julie standing there.

"Uhh, hi?" Julie said, a little nervously.

"Ah ha!" Cyril shouted. "I knew it! I knew there was a human around here! Kind of small, though, isn't she?"

"She's only a little girl, Cyril," Melissa said, coming into the kitchen.

"And you can't exterminate her," Ralph said. "You don't have the authority. Besides, we're trying to find Schafer and we're trying to get her back to where she belongs."

"We'd take her ourselves, but we don't know where the door is," Bert said.

"I don't either," Cyril admitted. "But that's not the point! The point is our Evergreen Forest is separate from the human's Evergreen Forest! The human world and our world are strictly forbidden! Everyone knows that!"

"Umm, I didn't," Julie spoke up.

"You keep out of this!" Cyril shouted at her.

"Look, once we get a hold of Schafer, she'll go back to her own world, and she won't come back," Ralph said.

"That's not good enough!" Cyril shouted. "If we allow her to return, she'll tell everyone in her world about ours, and then we'll all be exploited! Our Evergreen Forest could end up on the cover of every newspaper and magazine in the world!"

"I thought you said a little publicity never hurt anyone," Melissa said.

"I can keep a secret," Julie said. "I wouldn't tell anyone."

"I've known too many girls to go blabbing secrets around, missy!" Cyril shouted, right in Julie's face. "Tomorrow morning, I'm coming back here for this girl, and she's going to be exterminated!"

And with that, Cyril slammed the door shut. Bert was ready to clobber him.

"Why that no good, rotten, I oughta . . . . ." he said, pumping his fists in a mock fight. "Who does he think he is, anyway?"

"Never mind, Bert," Ralph said. "I'm going out to find Schafer right now!"

"Don't worry, Julie," Melissa said. "We'll get you back home."

"Yeah, don't worry about ol' Faucet Face," Bert said. "Ralph'll find Schafer and then everything will be okay."

"I hope so," Julie said. "I sure hope so!"


	4. Julie and the River

Early the next morning, Cedric and Sophia got a still sleeping Forest, and started sneaking out of the Sneer mansion. Cedric slowly opened the front door, and tiptoed out, followed by Sophia.

"Close the door as quietly as you can," Sophia whispered. "We don't want your father to hear us."

"Right," Cedric whispered back, and he closed the door as quietly as he possibly could.

Unfortunately, Forest chose that moment to wake up. And usually when Forest woke up, he woke up screaming. And this time was no exception.

"Oh Forest!" Sophia sighed. She began digging through the baby bag to find Forest's bottle before he could wake up Cyril. She finally found it, and promptly stuck it in the baby's mouth. Forest calmed down and was now happily sucking up his breakfast.

Cedric breathed of relief, and he and Sophia started to walk towards the Raccoondominium. They weren't going to bother starting up their car. They didn't want to risk Cyril finding out what they were up to.

At the Raccoondominium, Melissa was sitting by the window, just watching. Through the mist, she saw something come up the path. Two something's actually. One was small and furry, and the other was large and shaggy. It was Ralph and Schafer! Melissa jumped off the window sill, and ran over to the couch.

"Julie!" she whispered, shaking the little girl's shoulder gently. "Julie, wake up! Schafer's here!"

"Schafer?" Julie asked, sleepily. "He's here?"

"Yes," Melissa said. "I've got to go wake up Bert, and we've got to get to the door before Cyril Sneer finds out."

Julie nodded, and got up. She put on her sneakers and grabbed her backpack. Melissa and Bert ran out of one of the rooms, and the three of them left the Raccoondominium.

"Schafer!" Julie cried happily. "You can walk on your hind legs?"

"Yes," Schafer said. "So here's where you've been, Julie. Your dad and Tommy have been looking everywhere for you."

"I didn't mean to get lost," Julie said. "I'm sorry."

At that moment, Cedric and Sophia walked up to the Raccoondominium. Forest saw Julie, and began reaching for her.

"Can I hold Forest, Sophia?" Julie asked. "Please?"

"Sure," Sophia said, giving Forest to her. "You can even carry him until we get to the door."

"Thanks," Julie said. Forest gurgled happily and clapped his hands.

"We don't have much time," Cedric said, punching the buttons on his trusty calculator. "Pop should be getting up any minute now."

"All right, everybody," Ralph said. "Let's go!"

Schafer led the way through the woods. But what they didn't know was that Cyril was already up, and waiting for them. The night before, Cyril had snuck into the nursery and put a tracking device into Forest's baby bag, knowing that Cedric and Sophia would take the baby with them when they went to find the door. Now, he was sitting in his mansion, looking on a computer screen, and following the blip.

"I had a feeling you would try to sneak that human out without my knowing, Cedric," he said to himself. "All I have to do now is follow you."

Cyril left the mansion with his portable tracking system, and began to follow the blip. He caught up with Cedric, Sophia, the Raccoons, Julie, and Schafer by the secret door, which was near the river.

"I think the coast is clear," Ralph said, from the tree tops.

"I don't think Mr. Sneer would follow us," Sophia said. "He doesn't even know what we're up to."

"I wouldn't count on it, Sophia," Cedric said. "Pop's a very sneaky guy."

"Well, if we hurry," Melissa said. "We can get Julie back home before he finds out."

Julie gave Forest a hug, and gave him back to Sophia.

"Bye-bye, Forest," she said.

Forest began to whimper and reached for Julie. He didn't want his new friend to go. He wanted her to stay.

"Oh Forest, Julie has to go," Melissa said. "Her home is on the other side, just like your home's here."

Forest let out a wail, and continued to reach for Julie. Julie couldn't stand it. She took Forest back, and gave him a hug.

"It's not that I don't like you, Forest," she said. "But I have to go home. My daddy and my brother will be worried. Your mommy and daddy would be worried too, if you got lost and couldn't find you."

Forest continued to whimper. Julie held him close, and tried to comfort him. She didn't want Forest to be sad. She was still comforting him when Cyril burst through the bushes and over to the group.

"Get your filthy human hands off my grandson!" he shouted.

"Cyril Sneer!" Ralph shouted.

"Pop!" Cedric shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"How did you find us?" Melissa asked.

"I planted a tracking device in the baby bag," Cyril said, as he took Forest from Julie and put him down on the ground. "So you found the overgrown shag rug and the secret door, eh? Well, it's not going to do any good. This girl knows too much about our world, and I can't afford to send her back!"

"Please don't exterminate me!" Julie shouted, on the verge of crying. "I promise I won't tell anyone about this place!"

"Hmph, girls can't keep secrets," Cyril grumbled. He reached out to grab Julie, but Schafer stepped in between them.

"If you touch one hair on her head, so help me . . . . ." he growled.

"Back off, mutt, this doesn't concern you," Cyril said.

"It does if Julie's involved!"

"Pop, you can't exterminate her!" Cedric shouted. "She's just a little girl!"

"Who's side are you on, Cedric!" Cyril shouted. "You and Sofa Girl are coming close to being thrown in my dungeon, you know!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Bert shouted. "You're really out of line here, Faucet Face!"

"And just who are you calling Faucet Face, you little . . . ." Cyril shouted.

"That's enough!" Melissa shouted, trying to restore a little order. "Just who do you think you are, Cyril Sneer, following us all the way up here?"

"You have no right to hurt Julie," Ralph said. "And we won't let you, either!"

"But if she goes back to her own world, she'll bring others!" Cyril shouted. "Our world as we know it will be destroyed!"

"Hah! Like you haven't tried to destroy it time after time already," Bert said.

"Why you . . . ." Cyril shouted.

With that a shouting match ensued. Cyril was stating his case that Julie had to be exterminated for the Evergreen Forest's own good, and the others, especially Schafer, weren't going to allow him to do such a thing to a little girl.

Amazingly, Forest wasn't bothered by all the yelling. He was rummaging through the baby bag that was laying on the ground. He pulled out his favorite toy of the moment, a red, rubber ball. He bounced it against the ground and giggled. But the ball bounced towards the river bank, and Forest went after it. The others were too busy arguing that they didn't even notice him. Forest followed his ball right to the edge of the river, and the ball plopped right in.

_Ker-plunk!_

Forest just sat there, watching the spot where his ball fell in. By this time, Sophia was starting to get fed up with Cyril.

"If this is your attitude, Cyril Sneer, then I'm just going to take Forest and . . . ." she started as she bent down to pick up Forest, but to her surprise, he wasn't there.

"Cedric, where's the baby?" she asked.

"Oh no, not again!" Cedric groaned.

"There he is over there!" Bert shouted. "Right by the riverbank!"

And as luck would have it, Forest was leaning over the edge of the river bank, trying to see if he could fish out his ball.

"FOREST!" Sophia shrieked. She started running to her baby, but she wasn't fast enough. Forest leaned forward, and fell into the river. The current began to sweep him downstream.

"My baby!" Sophia shouted.

"Forest!" Cedric yelled, starting to panic.

"Oh no!" Melissa shouted.

Cyril nearly swallowed his cigar. He turned to the others and glared at them.

"Who was supposed to be watching him!" he yelled.

"Don't yell at us, Cyril!" Bert said. "This is your fault!"

"My fault!" Cyril yelled. "You little pest, why I oughta make a coon skin cap out of you!"

"We can't fight about it now!" Julie shouted. "We have to save Forest!"

"Julie's right," Ralph said, running downstream. "Come on everybody!"

Everyone ran downstream, trying to figure out what to do. That's when Bert remembered something about the river.

"Hey," he said. "Doesn't this river lead to a waterfall?"

"What!" Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia shouted in unison.

"Oh no!" Sophia moaned.

"I have an idea," Julie said. "If we head the river off at the water fall, maybe we can beat Forest to it."

"Good idea," Ralph said. "Let's go!"

The group ran right to the water fall. The top of it was blocked off by shrubs, but there was a small opening that led to a branch hanging over the falls.

"If we can get to that branch, we might be able to catch Forest before he goes over the falls," Cedric said.

"Count me out," Schafer said. "I'm too big to get through that opening."

"I might be able to," Sophia said. "Give me a boost, Schafer."

Schafer gave Sophia the boost, but she was too tall to get through. So Melissa tried to get through, but she was too big, as well.

"It's no use," she said. "I can't get through it."

"We'll never make it in time," Sophia moaned.

"I think I can get through," Julie said.

"I don't know," Bert said. "This could be dangerous."

"Please, let me try," Julie said. "I know I can do it. Please let me, for Forest's sake."

Everyone glanced at each other, and finally agreed to it. Schafer lifted Julie to the opening, and helped her crawl through. Julie made it to the tree branch. She extended her arms, and began walking across it, as if it were a balance beam, like the kind she walked on in gym class at school.

"Be careful, Julie!" Schafer warned.

"Don't worry!" Julie called. "I will! Hey, I see Forest! He's coming down now!"

Julie then sat down on the branch, and flipped herself down until she was hanging by her knees. Cedric's stomach clenched. He took off his glasses, and slapped his hand over his eyes.

"I can't watch!" he shouted.

"Me neither!" Bert shouted.

Sophia and Melissa took a breath. Schafer and Ralph were watching nervously. Cyril was standing away from the group. He wanted to make sure no one could see him. He had his fingers crossed, and he was chewing on his cigar. He was just as nervous as the others, but he didn't want them to know it.

Julie watched carefully, as Forest was coming up to the waterfall. She stretched as far down as she could, and managed to grab Forest by the wrists. Then she swung herself upward, and crawled back to the others on her knees, slowly, with Forest tightly gripped in her other arm.

"She made it!" Ralph shouted.

"Yahoo!" Bert cheered.

"Thank goodness," Cedric said. "I think I nearly had a heart attack!"

Schafer helped Julie down from the branch. Forest burst out crying just then. Sophia ran to Julie, grabbed her baby, and held him close to her, hugging him and kissing him.

"Forest!" she shouted, as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh Forest! Oh my baby! Oh, I'm so glad you're all right!"

"You gave us quite a scare, little buddy," Bert said. He took off his sweater, and handed it to Sophia. Sophia immediately wrapped Forest into it.

"Oh Julie, thank you so much!" she shouted. "If it weren't for you, I could have lost my baby."

"Oh, it was nothing," Julie said, shrugging.

"Nothing my foot!" Bert shouted. "You're a real hero!"

Everyone began cheering. Julie began to blush. Cyril stepped in and took Forest from Sophia.

"Well, let's get going," he said. "Now, before Forest catches something!"

Everyone laughed, and followed Cyril back to the Sneer mansion. Sophia immediately got Forest into a bath, and then put him to bed. Then she joined the others in the front hall, where everyone was gathered around Cyril, glaring at him.

"Well, Cyril," Ralph said. "I think you have something to say to Julie. After all, she _did_ save your grandson's life!"

"Yeah, I know," Cyril grumbled. "And . . . . thanks, I guess."

"Is that all?" Ralph asked, expectantly.

"No that's not all!" Cyril growled. Then he turned to Julie. "In the light of what's happened . . . . well, circumstances being what they are . . . . . I've decided not to exterminate you after all."

And with that, Cyril left the room. Ralph sighed and shook his head.

"Same old Cyril," he said.

"Never mind him," Bert said. "I'd say Julie's tremendous feat of daring do calls for a celebration!"

Everyone laughed, and followed Bert to the Raccoondominium. Schafer carried Julie on his shoulders. After all, she was the hero of the day.


	5. Home At Last

The next morning, everyone met by the secret door. It was time to say goodbye to Julie. And Forest was crying over it. He didn't understand why she had to go.

"He doesn't want his hero to leave," Bert commented.

Julie giggled, and took Forest from Sophia. She gave him a hug, and stroked his ears.

"Don't cry, Forest," she said. "When you grow up, you'll probably forget all about me. But even if you don't, you still have a lot of friends here. And Schafer can always come here and tell you what I've been doing and stuff like that."

Forest whimpered a little, but he did stop crying. Julie gave him a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Then she gave him back to Sophia, and gave her a hug, as well. Then she moved on to Cedric.

"Sophia and I can't thank you enough," Cedric said, as he hugged Julie. "I don't know what we would have done if we lost Forest."

"I'm happy I could help," Julie said.

"So long, Julie," Bert said, as Julie came over to the three Raccoons. "Be careful out there."

"I will," Julie said, hugging Bert.

"Don't go getting lost again," Ralph said, smiling, and he gave Julie a hug goodbye.

"I won't," Julie replied.

"We're going to miss you, Julie," Melissa said. "You take care of yourself."

"Okay," Julie said, as she hugged Melissa.

Julie was about to follow Schafer through the door, when Cyril stepped up.

"Hold it a minute," he said. "There's something I want to say to the little human."

"Pop, she has to get going," Cedric said.

"I know, Cedric, I know," Cyril said. "This won't take long."

Julie walked over to Cyril, and he led her into the forest, close enough to the door, but far enough away for the others not to see him.

"Look," he said. "I don't usually show any compassion, but after what you did for Forest . . . . . well, I just wanted to say thanks for that."

"You already did," Julie said.

"Yeah, I know, I know. But somehow, it just doesn't seem like it's enough. So I staid up last night working on something."

Cyril then took out a chain. On the end of it was a small, silver medallion. There was a letter J engraved on it. Cyril undid the clasp, and fastened it around the little girl's neck.

"You really are a hero," he said.

"Thanks," Julie said. "Well, goodbye, Mr. Sneer."

"Yeah, bye, kid," Cyril said.

Julie turned around and started to walk back towards the door. But before she could reach it, she turned around, and ran back to Cyril, giving him a hug. Cyril was a bit taken aback. He cleared his throat, and looked around a little.

"Yeah, well," he said. "Go on, get out of here. You're cramping my style."

Julie giggled, and walked back to the door. Schafer opened it, and Julie turned back towards the others.

"Bye, everybody," she said.

Everyone else said goodbye as well. Sophia lifted Forest's arm, and made him wave goodbye, too. Schafer took Julie's hand, and the two of them went through the door.

"You know," Bert said. "I'm gonna miss her."

The others nodded in agreement and started back to their homes.

Schafer and Julie walked through a tunnel, until they got to another doorway. Before he opened the door, Schafer turned to Julie.

"You have to promise one thing, Julie," he said. "You must never tell anyone about the Evergreen Forest behind this door. The human world and the animal world are two different places, and must remain that way."

"I promise I won't tell a soul, Schafer," Julie said. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Schafer smiled, and nodded. Then he opened the door, and he and Julie stepped through it. Once on the other side, Schafer got down on all fours.

"Now you stay here," he said. "I'll go find your dad, and bring him to you."

"Okay," Julie said, stifling a yawn. She was suddenly feeling very tired.

Julie started to lie down, as Schafer ran off, barking. She yawned again, and closed her eyes, ready for a nap. She could still hear Schafer barking in the distance. Suddenly, his barking grew louder and louder, and it was joined by tiny squeaky barks, too. Julie leaned up, and Schafer ran over and licked her face.

"Schafer!" Julie giggled. Schafer began barking louder.

"Here she is, Dad!" Tommy called out, holding a lantern. "Schafer and Broo found her!"

"Julie!" Dan shouted, rushing over. He picked up his daughter and held her. "Thank goodness we found you!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Julie said. "I got lost."

"We've been looking for you all day!" Tommy shouted. "Look how dark it's got! You were lost a long time!"

"You two should have staid together," Dan said. "But I'm just glad you're not hurt. Come on. Let's go home."

Julie smiled. Home at last. But she couldn't help wondering something. All the time she spent in the other Evergreen Forest, with Ralph, Melissa, Bert, Cedric, and Sophia . . . . . could that have been a dream? It seemed too real to be a dream. Julie started playing with the chain and silver medallion around her neck, and pondered it some more.

Once they were out of sight, the door in the tree opened, and Cyril looked out, with Forest.

"There, Forest, my boy," he said. "She made it back all right. I just hope we can trust her to keep our Evergreen Forest a secret."

"I think that shouldn't be a problem," Schafer said. "You'd better get back. Someone might see you."

"Schafer!" Tommy called from the distance. "Come on, boy! We're going home!"

Schafer barked, and ran to catch up with his family.

The End


End file.
